Philip Kantor
International Chairman for Motoring
Lot 246
1925 Bugatti Type 39 Grand prix Racing Two-Seater
Chassis no. 4607 Engine no. 7
6 February 2020, 14:00 CET
Paris, The Grand PalaisSold for €870,000 inc. premium
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The Ex-works/Giulio Foresti, Ex-Carl Junker 1931 Australian GP-winning
1925 Bugatti Type 39 Grand prix Racing Two-Seater
Chassis no. 4607
Engine no. 7
1925 Bugatti Type 39 Grand prix Racing Two-Seater
Chassis no. 4607
Engine no. 7
All the sophistication of Ettore Bugatti's famously thoughtful design ethic is embodied within this wonderfully well-presented ex-works racing Bugatti Type 39, as manufactured at the charismatic Molsheim factory in 1925...
Mr Bugatti built his reputation upon creating rapid and reliable motor cars endowed with competitively powerful engines in light, compact, and nimble chassis. Above all he clearly grasped the over-riding importance of a high power-to-weight ratio in contrast to some other quality car constructors to whom overall weight seemed irrelevant compared to achieving the highest possible power not necessarily out there on the open road, nor race circuit, but in the engine test-house...
While combining in so many of his sporting models high power, minimal mass and a good-handling, driveable chassis, Ettore Bugatti also manufactured most of them in sufficient numbers to attract, and to satisfy, broad demand from a moneyed and dashingly competition-minded market.
In 1924 Mr Bugatti had launched his 2-litre Type 35 design, and by 1925 the Type 39 followed to comply with maximum 1500cc Voiturette racing regulations – effectively the Formula 2 of the time. Use of a short-stroke crankshaft in the straight-8 cylinder engine provided bore and stroke measurements of 60mm x 66mm, displacing 1493cc. Possibly Mr Bugatti was anticipating the overall Grand Prix capacity limit rule change for 1926-27 which would cut maximum permitted engine capacity from 2-litres to 1½.
The Type 39s made their debut in the Grand Prix de Tourisme at Montlhéry south of Paris, France, in June 1925. The four new works team cars promptly finished 1-2-3-4 in their class, and in 3rd place was '4607' now offered here, driven by Giulio Foresti.
Of course the pinnacle of road racing competition during the 1920s was the Grand Prix arena, and when the1925 Italian Grand Prix at Monza Autodrome was run concurrently with the 1500cc Gran Premio delle Vetturette the Bugatti company contested it with a full team of five Type 39s.
The race was run over 80 laps of the Milanese Autodrome's 10km combined road and high-speed track. Bugatti's team captain was Bartolomeo 'Meo' Costantini, teamed to drive with Jules Goux, Pierre de Vizcaya, Count Carlo Masetti and Count Aymo Maggi, who was replacing Ferdinand de Vizcaya, the Spanish banker – and backer of the Bugatti company - who arrived late from Barcelona. And when Count Masetti had to stand down due to a leg injury, it was Giulio Foresti who took his place to drive '4607' in the long race...
As the Gran Premio developed, the Bugattis not only dominated the Voiturette category but also climbed the leader board amongst the full 2-litre Grand Prix cars. Finally – after 5hrs 44mins 40.91secs to be precise (the Italian lap-scorers immensely proud of their then-new hundredth-second timing equipment) the Gran Premio delle Vetturette was decided with Costantini's Bugatti Type 39 winning from the sister cars of Ferdinand de Vizcaya and Giulio Foresti, respectively 2nd and 3rd. Pierre de Vizcaya's Type 39 placed fourth while Jules Goux's engine had failed after 64 of the 80 laps. Overall, the Bugatti Type 39s had proved so fast and reliable that Costantini finished the Grand Prix 3rd overall, Ferdinand de Vizcaya 6th and Foresti in '4607' now offered here, 7th.
A record survives of this car and its sister '4604' both being sold soon after to the British importer, Colonel Sorel in London, and it is thought that Giulio Foresti – an accomplished 'wheeler-dealer' in his own right – then found an eager buyer for the pair – one A.V.Turner - in Australia, although alternative reference suggests that '4607' was imported there by prominent Vauxhall driver Boyd Edkins.
On June 19, 1926, the car certainly appeared upon Sydney's high-banked Maroubra Speedway driven by a friend and colleague of Edkins, Dick Clarke. While the Type 39s – or 'Monzas' as they became known in Australia – became particularly noted for their wonderfully high-pitched exhaust note, they were not well-suited to Maroubra, since they were over-geared for the tight Speedway. Clarke was still able to win a heat there on September 4, 1926, and '4607' lapped the speedbowl at 86mph. At Penrith Clarke won a heat and a semi-final before taking 2nd and 3rd places in two further events. Then back at Maroubra for the January, 1927 meeting Clarke won two heats and took 2nd in a final.
The car later passed to 20-year-old Sid Cox, son of a wealthy building magnate. The young man also had a Bugatti Type 40 which he used as a tender when he took '4607' to Philip Island, Melbourne, Victoria, to race in the 1928 Australian Grand Prix. With friend Ken McKinney alongside him Sid Cox practised for the great race only for bronze filings to be found in the oil filter, a sign that the power unit's bronze roller-bearing cages were failing. On race day, sure enough, '4607's engine broke a connecting rod.
A new crankcase and sump were bought for the car, but the old sump was used in the rebuild, mated to the new crankcase. Cox then sold '4607' to poster-artist Reg St John who became noted for maintaining the Bugatti in utterly pristine, highly polished and well-cherished condition. He reportedly used it to parade up and down Swanston Street, Melbourne, admiring his reflection in the shop windows. And why not?
However, Australian racer Carl Junker then acquired the car and – with Reg Nutt as his riding mechanic – he entered it in the 1931 Australian GP again at Philip Island. They were running second behind Hope Bartlett's Bugatti Type 37A on the penultimate lap when its engine failed, Junker and Nutt joyously inheriting outright Grand Prix victory for '4607'. Ernie Nutt had tuned the car and he would recall that Junker used 7,000rpm through the gears, '4607' achieving 55mph in 1st, 72mph in 2nd and 103mph in 3rd.
Racing again in the 1932 Australian GP, Junker improved his lap times but fell victim to spark-plug trouble which meant he could finish only 5th. Completing the long race ahead of him that day was Merton Wreford in his Brescia Bugatti, and he later bought '4607' from Junker, reputedly after it had suffered another engine failure.
Mert Wreford fixed the problem and then entered the Type 39 in the 1933 Australian GP in which he found himself confronted by Carl Junker in the sister 1925 Bugatti 'Monza' – chassis '4604'. These two Type 39s proved to be the class of that Grand Prix field and after Junker's engine blew-up, Wreford moved into the lead, only for '4607's engine to fail on the third-last lap. Evidently the two broken 'Monzas' were left parked together at trackside – but Mert Wreford had recorded the race's fastest lap.
A new owner was then found for '4607' in specialist Jack Day of the Ajax Pump Works who fitted '4607' with his own 'Day' supercharger, driven from the crankshaft nose. He made his debut with the supercharged car in the August, 1933, Frankston hill-climb. But when the forced-induction experiment disappointed, Jack Day removed the Bugatti engine and fitted instead a Ford V8. This Type 39 thus became the first Australian special to be powered by a 'black iron' American Ford V8. The resultant Day Special proved very successful through 1936, setting new hill-climb records at Mitcham and Rob Roy. Reg Nutt raced the car in monoposto form at Phillip Island, 1937, and in the South Australian GP in 1938.
After World War 2, Bondi Beach surf life-saver, water-skier and amateur wrestler 'Gelignite' Jack Murray bought '4607' in its Day Special form from Jack Day, the price £1,100.
'Gelignite Jack' would earn his nickname from blowing up rural dunnies with sticks of gelignite during the RedeX Round Australia Trials. Every man needs a hobby....
The car "was given the full Murray red paint and chrome treatment" and in it he set fastest time and finished 5th on handicap in the 1946 New South Wales GP at Bathurst. Returning there n 1947 he was tipped to win, but failed to finish. The car was clocked at 106mph. At the 1948 Bathurst 100 the Day Special was recorded at 117mph and placed 3rd on handicap in the over 1500cc class. Overheating often afflicted the car in its Ford V8-engined form, but 'Gelignite Jack' continued to campaign the ageing special into 1954 when he was an amazing 4th fastest and 7th on handicap at the Bathurst Easter Meeting.
Subsequently the car survived in storage at Murray's Bondi garage, until he sold it – accompanied by a mass of related Bugatti components – to marque enthusiast Ted Lobb. While the original Type 39 chassis survived within the Day Special, Ted Lobb also had its original engine 'No 7' – which was fitted in his sister car '4604' – so now he also owned the blown-up engine 'No 6' – originally in '4604' – from Jack Day. Around 1974, Ted Lobb sold the Day Special and engine 'No 6' plus numerous other related Bugatti parts to Bob King, who later decided to rebuild '4607' to its 1925 Italian Grand Prix 'Monza' form.
He would later write: "The monumental rebuild was completed in the early 1980s, using a Type 39 crankshaft which came from Lance Dixon's Type 51A '4847'. The crankshaft – numbered '27' – was in perfect ex-factory condition, all parts carrying matching factory numbers. A gearbox casing was obtained in England from Ian Preston. The differential is Type 38, suitably altered, from the Nuttbug (BC4)". He concluded "'4607' was sold to Art Valdez of California in 1986...".
This restored Bugatti Type 39 was then shipped to Bangkok, Thailand, in time for new owner Art Valdez to drive it in the December 5, 1987, Prince 'Bira' commemorative Bangkok Grand Prix meeting. Anton Perera reported in 'The Nation' newspaper: "There in the parade was the oldest car of them all, a Bugatti Type 39 – all of 62 years with a 1493cc engine. And didn't the smooth engine purr with noise, indicating that it could be a danger on the 2.5km Pattaya Circuit next week...Yes, the 1931 Australian Grand Prix winner looked in perfectly good trim and ready to turn on the speed..."
John Fitzpatrick of the Australian Bugatti Register later reported how at Pattaya, where the Vintage race "ended an absolutely magical fortnight...Art Valdez was euphoric after his first race in a GP Bugatti...as Neil Corner wrote recently '...To have your GP Bugatti motoring well is to live with the gods...'".
The car was preserved within Mr Valdez's Californian ownership until in April 1993 he telephoned former owner Bob King to declare his intention to sell it. However, it was not until 2017 that the car subsequently passed from Art Valdez into the ownership of the present vendor.
Today '4607' presents very well indeed, having recently benefited from a mechanical inspection, strip-down and rebuilt by Tony Ditheridge's renowned Hawker Racing concern in Milden, Suffolk, England. This work included thorough cleaning and re-commissioning - even to the extent of fitting new valve springs. This ex-works Bugatti warhorse was then unleashed successor on the open road. Now, subject to the usual inspections and personal set-up adjustments, '4607' is poised for an active 2020 motoring season.
The car is accompanied by a comprehensive historical overview and inspection report compiled by the highly respected British Bugatti specialists David Sewell and Mark Morris.
In summary they confirm that "Type 39 chassis '4607' presents itself today as a recognised and well recorded example of the 8-cylinder GP Bugatti". They continue: "One key factor that must be recorded is that the major components are of Molsheim manufacture". The chassis frame is No 61 – while they report that the Molsheim lower (engine) crankcase is '7' ex-'4604' – the Molsheim upper (engine) crankcase is '114' – the Molsheim cambox 'No 7' – the Molsheim gearbox 'No 113' – the Molsheim gearbox lid No '856' – while the Molsheim rear axle centre casing has been modified from that of a touring car, ratio 12x54, 'No 284'.
So here BONHAMS is delighted to commend to the market this Bugatti Type 39 – the eminently useable (and potentially so enjoyable – and so raceable) winner of the 1931 Australian Grand Prix – and previously works driver Giulio Foresti's works team car, with third place in the 1925 Grand Prix de Tourism –third place in the 1925 Italian Gran Premio delle Vetturette at Monza – and 7th in the overall Italian Grand Prix, all so prominent within its history.
Just one decisive bid, and this fine example of Le Pur Sang – which such a jam-packed history on both road and track - could be yours...
Please note if you wish to bid on this Lot, special formalities are required. Contact Client Services at +44 20 7447 7447 or [email protected] at least 24-hours in advance of the sale. Please also note Online Bidding is not available for this Lot.
Mr Bugatti built his reputation upon creating rapid and reliable motor cars endowed with competitively powerful engines in light, compact, and nimble chassis. Above all he clearly grasped the over-riding importance of a high power-to-weight ratio in contrast to some other quality car constructors to whom overall weight seemed irrelevant compared to achieving the highest possible power not necessarily out there on the open road, nor race circuit, but in the engine test-house...
While combining in so many of his sporting models high power, minimal mass and a good-handling, driveable chassis, Ettore Bugatti also manufactured most of them in sufficient numbers to attract, and to satisfy, broad demand from a moneyed and dashingly competition-minded market.
In 1924 Mr Bugatti had launched his 2-litre Type 35 design, and by 1925 the Type 39 followed to comply with maximum 1500cc Voiturette racing regulations – effectively the Formula 2 of the time. Use of a short-stroke crankshaft in the straight-8 cylinder engine provided bore and stroke measurements of 60mm x 66mm, displacing 1493cc. Possibly Mr Bugatti was anticipating the overall Grand Prix capacity limit rule change for 1926-27 which would cut maximum permitted engine capacity from 2-litres to 1½.
The Type 39s made their debut in the Grand Prix de Tourisme at Montlhéry south of Paris, France, in June 1925. The four new works team cars promptly finished 1-2-3-4 in their class, and in 3rd place was '4607' now offered here, driven by Giulio Foresti.
Of course the pinnacle of road racing competition during the 1920s was the Grand Prix arena, and when the1925 Italian Grand Prix at Monza Autodrome was run concurrently with the 1500cc Gran Premio delle Vetturette the Bugatti company contested it with a full team of five Type 39s.
The race was run over 80 laps of the Milanese Autodrome's 10km combined road and high-speed track. Bugatti's team captain was Bartolomeo 'Meo' Costantini, teamed to drive with Jules Goux, Pierre de Vizcaya, Count Carlo Masetti and Count Aymo Maggi, who was replacing Ferdinand de Vizcaya, the Spanish banker – and backer of the Bugatti company - who arrived late from Barcelona. And when Count Masetti had to stand down due to a leg injury, it was Giulio Foresti who took his place to drive '4607' in the long race...
As the Gran Premio developed, the Bugattis not only dominated the Voiturette category but also climbed the leader board amongst the full 2-litre Grand Prix cars. Finally – after 5hrs 44mins 40.91secs to be precise (the Italian lap-scorers immensely proud of their then-new hundredth-second timing equipment) the Gran Premio delle Vetturette was decided with Costantini's Bugatti Type 39 winning from the sister cars of Ferdinand de Vizcaya and Giulio Foresti, respectively 2nd and 3rd. Pierre de Vizcaya's Type 39 placed fourth while Jules Goux's engine had failed after 64 of the 80 laps. Overall, the Bugatti Type 39s had proved so fast and reliable that Costantini finished the Grand Prix 3rd overall, Ferdinand de Vizcaya 6th and Foresti in '4607' now offered here, 7th.
A record survives of this car and its sister '4604' both being sold soon after to the British importer, Colonel Sorel in London, and it is thought that Giulio Foresti – an accomplished 'wheeler-dealer' in his own right – then found an eager buyer for the pair – one A.V.Turner - in Australia, although alternative reference suggests that '4607' was imported there by prominent Vauxhall driver Boyd Edkins.
On June 19, 1926, the car certainly appeared upon Sydney's high-banked Maroubra Speedway driven by a friend and colleague of Edkins, Dick Clarke. While the Type 39s – or 'Monzas' as they became known in Australia – became particularly noted for their wonderfully high-pitched exhaust note, they were not well-suited to Maroubra, since they were over-geared for the tight Speedway. Clarke was still able to win a heat there on September 4, 1926, and '4607' lapped the speedbowl at 86mph. At Penrith Clarke won a heat and a semi-final before taking 2nd and 3rd places in two further events. Then back at Maroubra for the January, 1927 meeting Clarke won two heats and took 2nd in a final.
The car later passed to 20-year-old Sid Cox, son of a wealthy building magnate. The young man also had a Bugatti Type 40 which he used as a tender when he took '4607' to Philip Island, Melbourne, Victoria, to race in the 1928 Australian Grand Prix. With friend Ken McKinney alongside him Sid Cox practised for the great race only for bronze filings to be found in the oil filter, a sign that the power unit's bronze roller-bearing cages were failing. On race day, sure enough, '4607's engine broke a connecting rod.
A new crankcase and sump were bought for the car, but the old sump was used in the rebuild, mated to the new crankcase. Cox then sold '4607' to poster-artist Reg St John who became noted for maintaining the Bugatti in utterly pristine, highly polished and well-cherished condition. He reportedly used it to parade up and down Swanston Street, Melbourne, admiring his reflection in the shop windows. And why not?
However, Australian racer Carl Junker then acquired the car and – with Reg Nutt as his riding mechanic – he entered it in the 1931 Australian GP again at Philip Island. They were running second behind Hope Bartlett's Bugatti Type 37A on the penultimate lap when its engine failed, Junker and Nutt joyously inheriting outright Grand Prix victory for '4607'. Ernie Nutt had tuned the car and he would recall that Junker used 7,000rpm through the gears, '4607' achieving 55mph in 1st, 72mph in 2nd and 103mph in 3rd.
Racing again in the 1932 Australian GP, Junker improved his lap times but fell victim to spark-plug trouble which meant he could finish only 5th. Completing the long race ahead of him that day was Merton Wreford in his Brescia Bugatti, and he later bought '4607' from Junker, reputedly after it had suffered another engine failure.
Mert Wreford fixed the problem and then entered the Type 39 in the 1933 Australian GP in which he found himself confronted by Carl Junker in the sister 1925 Bugatti 'Monza' – chassis '4604'. These two Type 39s proved to be the class of that Grand Prix field and after Junker's engine blew-up, Wreford moved into the lead, only for '4607's engine to fail on the third-last lap. Evidently the two broken 'Monzas' were left parked together at trackside – but Mert Wreford had recorded the race's fastest lap.
A new owner was then found for '4607' in specialist Jack Day of the Ajax Pump Works who fitted '4607' with his own 'Day' supercharger, driven from the crankshaft nose. He made his debut with the supercharged car in the August, 1933, Frankston hill-climb. But when the forced-induction experiment disappointed, Jack Day removed the Bugatti engine and fitted instead a Ford V8. This Type 39 thus became the first Australian special to be powered by a 'black iron' American Ford V8. The resultant Day Special proved very successful through 1936, setting new hill-climb records at Mitcham and Rob Roy. Reg Nutt raced the car in monoposto form at Phillip Island, 1937, and in the South Australian GP in 1938.
After World War 2, Bondi Beach surf life-saver, water-skier and amateur wrestler 'Gelignite' Jack Murray bought '4607' in its Day Special form from Jack Day, the price £1,100.
'Gelignite Jack' would earn his nickname from blowing up rural dunnies with sticks of gelignite during the RedeX Round Australia Trials. Every man needs a hobby....
The car "was given the full Murray red paint and chrome treatment" and in it he set fastest time and finished 5th on handicap in the 1946 New South Wales GP at Bathurst. Returning there n 1947 he was tipped to win, but failed to finish. The car was clocked at 106mph. At the 1948 Bathurst 100 the Day Special was recorded at 117mph and placed 3rd on handicap in the over 1500cc class. Overheating often afflicted the car in its Ford V8-engined form, but 'Gelignite Jack' continued to campaign the ageing special into 1954 when he was an amazing 4th fastest and 7th on handicap at the Bathurst Easter Meeting.
Subsequently the car survived in storage at Murray's Bondi garage, until he sold it – accompanied by a mass of related Bugatti components – to marque enthusiast Ted Lobb. While the original Type 39 chassis survived within the Day Special, Ted Lobb also had its original engine 'No 7' – which was fitted in his sister car '4604' – so now he also owned the blown-up engine 'No 6' – originally in '4604' – from Jack Day. Around 1974, Ted Lobb sold the Day Special and engine 'No 6' plus numerous other related Bugatti parts to Bob King, who later decided to rebuild '4607' to its 1925 Italian Grand Prix 'Monza' form.
He would later write: "The monumental rebuild was completed in the early 1980s, using a Type 39 crankshaft which came from Lance Dixon's Type 51A '4847'. The crankshaft – numbered '27' – was in perfect ex-factory condition, all parts carrying matching factory numbers. A gearbox casing was obtained in England from Ian Preston. The differential is Type 38, suitably altered, from the Nuttbug (BC4)". He concluded "'4607' was sold to Art Valdez of California in 1986...".
This restored Bugatti Type 39 was then shipped to Bangkok, Thailand, in time for new owner Art Valdez to drive it in the December 5, 1987, Prince 'Bira' commemorative Bangkok Grand Prix meeting. Anton Perera reported in 'The Nation' newspaper: "There in the parade was the oldest car of them all, a Bugatti Type 39 – all of 62 years with a 1493cc engine. And didn't the smooth engine purr with noise, indicating that it could be a danger on the 2.5km Pattaya Circuit next week...Yes, the 1931 Australian Grand Prix winner looked in perfectly good trim and ready to turn on the speed..."
John Fitzpatrick of the Australian Bugatti Register later reported how at Pattaya, where the Vintage race "ended an absolutely magical fortnight...Art Valdez was euphoric after his first race in a GP Bugatti...as Neil Corner wrote recently '...To have your GP Bugatti motoring well is to live with the gods...'".
The car was preserved within Mr Valdez's Californian ownership until in April 1993 he telephoned former owner Bob King to declare his intention to sell it. However, it was not until 2017 that the car subsequently passed from Art Valdez into the ownership of the present vendor.
Today '4607' presents very well indeed, having recently benefited from a mechanical inspection, strip-down and rebuilt by Tony Ditheridge's renowned Hawker Racing concern in Milden, Suffolk, England. This work included thorough cleaning and re-commissioning - even to the extent of fitting new valve springs. This ex-works Bugatti warhorse was then unleashed successor on the open road. Now, subject to the usual inspections and personal set-up adjustments, '4607' is poised for an active 2020 motoring season.
The car is accompanied by a comprehensive historical overview and inspection report compiled by the highly respected British Bugatti specialists David Sewell and Mark Morris.
In summary they confirm that "Type 39 chassis '4607' presents itself today as a recognised and well recorded example of the 8-cylinder GP Bugatti". They continue: "One key factor that must be recorded is that the major components are of Molsheim manufacture". The chassis frame is No 61 – while they report that the Molsheim lower (engine) crankcase is '7' ex-'4604' – the Molsheim upper (engine) crankcase is '114' – the Molsheim cambox 'No 7' – the Molsheim gearbox 'No 113' – the Molsheim gearbox lid No '856' – while the Molsheim rear axle centre casing has been modified from that of a touring car, ratio 12x54, 'No 284'.
So here BONHAMS is delighted to commend to the market this Bugatti Type 39 – the eminently useable (and potentially so enjoyable – and so raceable) winner of the 1931 Australian Grand Prix – and previously works driver Giulio Foresti's works team car, with third place in the 1925 Grand Prix de Tourism –third place in the 1925 Italian Gran Premio delle Vetturette at Monza – and 7th in the overall Italian Grand Prix, all so prominent within its history.
Just one decisive bid, and this fine example of Le Pur Sang – which such a jam-packed history on both road and track - could be yours...
Please note if you wish to bid on this Lot, special formalities are required. Contact Client Services at +44 20 7447 7447 or [email protected] at least 24-hours in advance of the sale. Please also note Online Bidding is not available for this Lot.
Footnotes
Ex-usine/Giulio Foresti, Ex-Carl Junker victorieuse au Grand Prix d'Australie 1931
Bugatti Type 39 Grand Prix deux places 1925
Châssis N° 4607
Moteur N° 7
Toute la sophistication de la légendaire éthique d'ingénierie d'Ettore Bugatti est incarnée dans cette Bugatti Type 39 compétition d'usine à la magnifique présentation, telle qu'elle fut construite dans les mythiques ateliers de Molsheim en 1925...
M. Bugatti avait bâti sa réputation en créant des automobiles rapides et fiables, dotée de puissants moteurs très compétitifs, installés dans des châssis légers, compacts et agiles. Mais, surtout il avait saisi l'importance primordiale du rapports poids/puissance, contrairement à d'autres constructeurs de modèles d'élite pour lesquels le poids total paraissait sans importance en comparaison de l'obtention d'une puissance la plus élevée possible, pas forcément sur route ou même sur circuit, mais au banc d'essai...
Tout en combinant dans la plupart de ses modèles sportifs puissance élevée et poids minimal avec un châssis confortable à la bonne tenue de route, Ettore Bugatti les construisait d'une manière générale en assez grand nombre pour attirer et satisfaire la forte demande d'une clientèle fortunée, avide de compétition.
En 1924, M. Bugatti avait lancé sa Type 35 2 litres, suivie en 1925 par la Type 39 qui répondait à la cylindrée maximale de 1500 cm3 du règlement des courses de Voiturette– en fait la Formule 2 de l'époque. Le recours à un vilebrequin à course courte pour son 8 cylindres en ligne donnait un alésage x course de 60 mm x 66 mm pour un total de 1 493 cm3. M. Bugatti avait probablement anticipé le changement de la limite de cylindrée en Grand Prix de 1926-27 qui allait abaisser la capacité des moteurs de 2 litres à 1,5 litre.
Les Type 39s firent leurs débuts au Grand Prix de Tourisme à Montlhéry au sud de Paris, en France, en juin 1925. Les quatre nouvelles voitures de l'équipe d'usine terminèrent aux 1e, 2e, 3e et 4e places de leur classe, à la 3e place se trouvait 4607, la voiture que nous proposons ici, pilotée par Giulio Foresti.
Le summum de la compétition pendant les années 1920 était les courses de Grand Prix et, lorsqu'en 1925, le Grand Prix d'Italie sur l'Autodrome de Monza fut couru en même temps que le Gran Premio delle Vetturette en 1 500 cm3, l'usine Bugatti envoya une équipe complète de cinq Type 39.
La course se faisait sur 80 tours des 10km de l'Autodrome Milanais, combinant route et piste de vitesse. Le capitaine de l'équipe Bugatti était Bartolomeo « Meo » Costantini, qui faisait équipe avec Jules Goux, Pierre de Vizcaya, le comte Carlo Masetti et le comte Aymo Maggi, qui remplaçait Ferdinand de Vizcaya, le banquier espagnol – bailleur de fonds de la société Bugatti – qui était arrivé trop tard de Barcelone. Quand le comte Masetti dut se retirer en raison d'une blessure à la jambe, ce fut Giulio Foresti qui prit sa place au volant de 4607 dans cette longue course ...
Au cours du Gran Premio, non seulement les Bugatti dominèrent la catégorie Voiturette, mais elles rejoignirent les 2 litres de Grand Prix en tête de la course. Finalement – après 5 heures 44 minutes et 40,91 secondes précisément (les chronométreurs italiens étaient particulièrement fiers de leur tout nouvel équipement au centième de seconde) le Gran Premio delle Vetturette revint à la Bugatti Type 39 de Costantini, devant ses jumelles pilotées par Ferdinand de Vizcaya et Giulio Foresti, respectivement 2e et 3e. La Type 39 de Pierre de Vizcaya se plaçait quatrième, tandis que le moteur de Jules Goux avait rendu l'âme après 64 des 80 tours. Au classement général, les Bugatti Type 39 s'étaient montrées si rapides et si fiables que Costantini finissait le Grand Prix 3e au classement général, Ferdinand de Vizcaya 6e et Foresti au volant de 4607, proposée à cette vente, 7e.
Une trace de cette voiture et de sa jumelle 4604 subsiste, les deux ayant été vendues peu après à l'importateur britannique, le colonel Sorel à Londres, et on suppose que Giulio Foresti – un magouilleur accompli – trouva un acheteur impatient pour les deux – un certain A. V. Turner - en Australie, bien qu'une autre source suggère que 4607 aurait été importée là-bas par le célèbre pilote Vauxhall Boyd Edkins.
Le 19 juin 1926, la voiture fit son apparition à Maroubra, le circuit à virages relevés de Sydney, pilotée par un ami et collègue d'Edkins, Dick Clarke. Alors que les Type 39 – ou Monza, comme on finit par les surnommer en Australie – se faisaient remarquer par la magnifique sonorité aigüe de leur échappement, elles n'étaient pas adaptées à Maroubra, en raison de leur rapport de pont trop long pour le petit circuit. Clarke réussit néanmoins à remporter une manche le 4 septembre 1926, et 4607 tourna 86 mph (136 km/h). À Penrith, Clarke gagna une manche et la demie finale avant de se placer 2e et 3e dans deux des épreuves suivantes. De retour à Maroubra pour la rencontre de janvier 1927, Clarke remporta deux manches se classant 2e dans la finale.
La voiture passa plus tard à Sid Cox, fils d'un riche magnat de l'immobilier âgé de 20ans. Le jeune avait déjà une Bugatti Type 40 qu'il utilisa comme transporteur pour emmener 4607 à Philip Island, près Melbourne, dans la province de Victoria, pour le Grand Prix d'Australie 1928. Avec son ami Ken McKinney à ses côtés, Sid Cox participa aux essais et trouva de la limaille de bronze dans le filtre à huile, signe que les coussinets étaient usés. Le jour de l'épreuve le moteur de 4607 coula une bielle.
Un nouveau vilebrequin et un carter neuf furent achetés pour la voiture, mais c'est l'ancien carter qui fut repris et associé au nouveau vilebrequin. Cox vendit alors 4607 à l'artiste affichiste Reg Saint John, connu pour avoir conservé la Bugatti dans son état immaculé, toute brillante et parfaitement entretenue. Il l'aurait utilisée pour parader sur Swanston Street, à Melbourne, en admirant son reflet dans les vitrines. Pourquoi pas ?
Quoiqu'il en soit, le pilote australien Carl Junker acquit alors la voiture et – avec Reg Nutt comme mécanicien – l'engagea au Grand Prix d'Australie en 1931 et à nouveau à Philip Island. Ils étaient second derrière la Bugatti Type 37A de Hope Bartlett dans l'avant-dernier tour, lorsque son moteur cassa, Junker et Nutt se retrouvant les heureux vainqueurs du Grand Prix avec 4607. C'est Ernie Nutt qui avait préparé la voiture et il se rappelait que Junker montait les rapports à 7 000 tr/min, 4607 atteignant 55mph (88 km/h) en 1e, 72 mph (115 km/h) en 2e et 103 mph (165 km/h) en 3e.
À nouveau engagée dans le Grand Prix d'Australie 1932, Junker améliora son temps au tour, mais fut victime d'un problème d'allumage et il ne termina que 5e. finissant la longue course devant lui ce jour-là, on trouvait Merton Wreford sur sa Bugatti Brescia, et ce dernier racheta 4607 à Junker, après une autre panne de moteur à ce qu'on dit.
Mert Wreford résolut le problème et engagea la Type 39 au Grand Prix d'Australie 1933 où il se trouva confronté à Carl Junker au volant de la Bugatti Monza 1925 jumelle – châssis 4604. Les deux Type 39 étaient les vedettes de ce Grand Prix et après que le moteur de Junker eût explosé, Wreford prit la tête pour voir le moteur de 4607 tomber en panne à trois tours de la fin. De toute évidence les deux Monza hors de service furent abandonnées le long du circuit – mais Mert Wreford avait battu le record du tour.
Un nouveau propriétaire fut alors trouvé pour 4607 en la personne du spécialiste Jack Day d'Ajax Pump Works qui équipa 4607 de son propre compresseur Day, entrainé en tête de vilebrequin. Il fit ses débuts avec la voiture suralimentée en août 1933, à la course de côte de Frankston. Mais le bloc à compresseur se montra décevant, Jack Day démonta alors le moteur Bugatti et le remplaça par un V8 Ford. Cette Type 39 devint alors la première spéciale Australienne à être animée par un V8 Ford « black iron » américain. La Day Spéciale s'avéra très compétitive au cours de la saison 1936, battant de nouveaux records en course de côte à Mitcham et Rob Roy. Reg Nutt pilota la voiture gréée en monoplace à Phillip Island en 1937 et au Grand Prix du sud australien en 1938.
Après la seconde guerre, le secouriste-surfeur, champion de ski nautique à Bondi Beach et catcheur amateur « Gelignite » Jack Murray acheta 4607 sous sa forme Day Spéciale à Jack Day, pour 1 100 £.
On lui avait donné le surnom de « Gelignite Jack » parce qu'il dynamitait les dunes avec des bâtons de gélignite pendant le RedeX Australia Trial. Chacun son hobby...
La voiture reçut une livrée rouge et des chromes, selon les goûts de Jack Murray, et sous cet aspect réalisa le meilleur temps, terminant 5e au Grand Prix des Galles du sud à Bathurst, en 1946. En 1947 il était à nouveau près de l'emporter mais ne put terminer. La voiture fut chronométrée à 170 km/h. Aux Bathurst 100 de 1948 la Day Spéciale fut chronométrée à 188 km/h et se plaça 3e dans la classe des plus de 1500 cm3. Des surchauffes moteur affectait souvent la voiture équipée du V8 Ford, mais « Gelignite Jack » continua d'engager sa spéciale vieillissante en 1954 quand il réalisa un incroyable 4e meilleur temps et se classa 7e au Bathurst Easter Meeting.
Plus tard, la voiture survécut remisée dans le garage de Murray à Bondi, jusqu'à ce qu'il la vende – accompagnée d'une masse de pièces Bugatti – à un passionné de la marque, Ted Lobb. Alors que le châssis original du Type 39 survivait sur la Day Spéciale, Ted Lobb acquit également son moteur N° 7 – qui avait été monté dans sa jumelle 4604 – possédant désormais également le moteur à compresseur N° 6 – à l'origine sur 4604 – de Jack Day. Vers 1974, Ted Lobb vendit la Day Spéciale et le moteur N° 6 ainsi que de de nombreuses pièces Bugatti à Bob King, qui décida plus tard de reconstruire 4607 dans sa configuration « Monza » du Grand Prix d'Italie 1925.
Plus tard, il écrivit : « La monumentale reconstruction fut terminée au début de 1980, en utilisant un vilebrequin de Type 39 provenant de la Type 51A N° 4847 de Lance Dixon. Le vilebrequin – numéro 27 – était en parfait état ex-usine, toutes les pièces frappées de numéros concordants. Un carter de boîte fut trouvé en Angleterre chez Ian Preston. Le différentiel est un Type 38, modifié en conséquence de la Nuttbug (BC4) ». Il concluait « 4607 a été vendue à Art Valdez de Californie en 1986... ».
La Bugatti Type 39 restaurée fut alors envoyée à Bangkok, en Thaïlande, juste à temps pour que son nouveau propriétaire, Art Valdez, puisse la piloter dans le Grand Prix de Bangkok en mémoire du Prince Bira le 5 décembre 1987. Anton Perera rapporta dans le journal The Nation : « Dans le défilé figurait la plus ancienne voiture, une Bugatti Type 39 de 62 ans avec un moteur de 1 493 cm3. Et son moteur ronronnait bruyamment, indiquant qu'elle pourrait bien être une menace sur les 2,5 km du circuit de Pattayala la semaine prochaine... Oui, la gagnante du Grand Prix d'Australie 1931 a l'air en parfaite condition prête à lâcher ses chevaux ... »
John Fitzpatrick du Bugatti Register australien écrivit plus tard comment « à Pattaya, où la course d'ancienne clôturait une quinzaine absolument magique... Art Valdez était euphorique après sa première course dans une Bugatti de Grand Prix... ». Comme Neil Corner l'affirmait encore récemment « ...avoir une Bugatti Grand Prix qui marche bien, c'est vivre avec les dieux ... ».
La voiture fut conservée dans la collection de M. Valdez en Californie jusqu'en avril 1993, lorsqu'il téléphona à l'ancien propriétaire Bob King pour lui déclarer son intention de la vendre. Quoiqu'il en soit, ce ne fut pas avant 2017 que la voiture passa d'Art Valdez aux mains du vendeur.
Aujourd'hui 4607 se présente très bien, ayant récemment bénéficié d'une révision mécanique, d'un démontage et d'une reconstruction dans les très réputés ateliers Hawker Racing de Tony Ditheridge à Milden, dans le Suffolk, en Angleterre. Ce travail comprend un nettoyage complet et une révision qui est allée jusqu'au changement des ressorts de soupapes. Cet ancien cheval de guerre de l'usine Bugatti est désormais lâché sur les routes. Actuellement soumise aux vérifications habituelles et aux réglages, 4607 est prête pour une très active saison 2020.
La voiture est accompagnée d'un historique complet, d'un rapport d'inspection effectué par les très respectés spécialistes Bugatti David Sewell et Mark Morris.
En résumé, ils confirment que la Type 39 châssis 4607 se présente aujourd'hui comme un exemplaire reconnu de « Bugatti Grand Prix 8 cylindres ». Ils poursuivent : « Un des facteurs clés qu'il ne faut pas oublier est que la plupart des composants ont été fabriqués à l'usine de Molsheim ». Le châssis est le N° 61 – tandis qu'ils soulignent que le carter de vilebrequin est le N°7 ex-4604 – le haut moteur de Molsheim est le N° 114 – la culasse de Molsheim la N° 7 – la boîte de vitesses de Molsheim la N° 113 – le couvercle de boîte de Molsheim le N° 856 – alors que le carter de pont arrière de Molsheim a été modifié à partir de celui d'une voiture de tourisme, rapport 12x54, N° 284.
Bonhams est donc particulièrement heureux de présenter sur le marché cette Bugatti Type 39 – parfaitement utilisable (et également très agréable et à même de courir) victorieuse du Grand Prix d'Australie 1931 – voiture de l'équipe d'usine du pilote Bugatti Giulio Foresti, troisième au Grand Prix de Tourisme 1925 – troisième au Gran Premio delle Vetturette d'Italie à Monza en 1925 – et 7e au classement général au Grand Prix d'Italie, les plus importants jalons de son histoire.
Une enchère décisive, et cet extraordinaire exemplaire de Pur Sang – avec un palmarès particulièrement étoffé sur route et sur piste – pourrait être à vous ...
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